Stan Lee Passes

The legendary Stan Lee, who created or co-created Spider-Man, the X-Men, Thor, Iron Man, the Black Panther, and more, died yesterday at the age of ninety-five at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in L.A.

Born Stanley Lieber in 1922 in Manhattan, New York City; the son of Romanian-born Jewish immigrant parents, the young Lee wrote from a young age. After graduating from high school, he joined the WPA Federal Theatre Project, and eventually got a job at Marvel‘s predecessor Timely Comics. He wrote his first story for the company, The Traitor’s Revenge!, and used his pen name, Stan Lee.

After a stint in the army during World War II, where he served in the Signal Corps, and then the Training Film Division, where he helped to write manuals and training films.

Once the war was over, he was back to work at his old company, now renamed Atlas Comics, and in 1961 Marvel Comics. Characters such as Hulk, Spider-Man, Doctor Strange, Daredevil, and X-Men appeared.

Lee’s Star Trek connection began when Marvel published a comic adaptation of Star Trek: The Motion Picture that ran for several years. In 1996, Marvel again published Trek comics for several years.

Beloved by the public, tributes poured in after news of his death, including some from Trek actors.

“Saddened to hear about @TheRealStanLee‘s passing,” said William Shatner. “Condolences to his daughter.”

“RIP Mr. Lee,” said Rod Roddenberry. “You will be missed.”

“Stan Lee. A phenomenon,” said Brent Spiner. “RIP.”

“Thank you, Stan,” said LeVar Burton. “You inspired us all.”

Doug Jones, Discovery‘s Saru, said “What can I say about the loss of a visionary who created one of my favorite characters I’ve ever played? Stan Lee’s fun-loving wit, charm, and poetic legacy will keep him alive for generations to come. My heart hurts, and he will be sorely missed.”

And Jason Isaacs shared a story about meeting Lee at Isaac’s first convention. “Met the genius #StanLee at my first convention,” he said. “He had an endless line and signed autographs all day long, which he did almost every weekend. ‘Why do you do it, Stan?’ I asked ‘Do you like meeting the fans, traveling, what?’ ‘It’s the fucking money, kid!’ he winked. It wasn’t.”

Farewell, Lee. Or should we say instead, “Excelsior!”

Lee is survived by his daughter, Joan Celia (J.C.), and younger brother Larry. His wife of 69 years, Joan, died last year.